Little wheel revelations…
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a blog post so here goes…
Seasons greetings to all from the Aussie household. May your festivities be merry.
Yes, hardly makes up for the last few tardy months where I’ve failed (so far?) to post anything on our principal outings – ie Dungog PedalFest, Sydney BromptoberFest & the Tasmania Tour. Maybe soon?
The very best of wishes for the New Year to you from the Aussie household. We’ve had a very interesting 2016 year & I’m sure that regular readers of the blog have observed the many outings & happenings of the Brompton family.
The introduction of Ralph-e reminds me that Brompton are also crafting an e-bike so maybe a good time to offer my experience & recommendations?
Accordingly, “a Plea to Mr Brompton…”
I’d like a lightweight mid-drive Pedelec Brompton with torque-sensing BB & on-bike battery storage, easily removable (aircraft-legal, 100Wh module units), but not impinging on luggage capability. I’m also happy to use my local hills for testing of various gearing options, & undertake frequent travel to review in-field scenarios not available to UK residents. (e.g. why wait to get your hot weather testing done?)
Christmas Day & 33° (no white Christmas around here?) saw a family gathering at the Aussie household.
“Brompton” kept watch for arriving guests…
The feasting included both cold & hot creations…
Some of my goodies included a folding table for the Tardis, a well-ventilated Urban lid & the chance to retain some cork-removal skills?
Oh, & Ralph-e did manage to get out for a local Christmas-lights ride after the Boxing Day recovery!
The very best of wishes for the New Year to you from the Aussie household. It’s been some hours now since the midnight fireworks (& sorry that I didn’t think to include the TV fireworks in the pic) & so time to give serious thought to 2016? 
The WordPress stats helper monkeys sent me an email recently on “My 2015 year in blogging”, in which the fancy, well-documented presentation made sobering reading. “Oh dear! Was that all?”, was my quiet comment with immediate thoughts to do better next year? Accordingly, I offer the following:
We’ll see…
Seasons greetings to all from the Aussie household – & just when I thought I’d be recycling a pic from previous years, along comes Brompton Bicycle with a new Christmas card…
Also, Brompton seems to have stopped work for the year & a certain poem came to mind –
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…
Local Brompton activity has been rather limited for various reasons. Lawn bowls is my “excuse” (see below) & for Mrs Aussie, she’s now “back to school” in continuing her Graphics Design degree course. I’m sure there’s a blog post coming on our recent rides? Another posting may say more about the recent Australian Brompton distribution changes (I’m sure there must be a story in there somewhere?) but for those unaware, Kobie Cycling is no longer handling Brompton distribution & there is now a separate Brompton Australia team – with their website being “http://www.bromptonaustralia.com.au/” (check out all the lovely bikes & parts).
Immediately on return from Adelaide my lawn bowling activities resumed (even before the lawns were attacked?) & club trials for the NSW Pennant season got underway. After 4 weeks of trial games against other clubs, we’re now 3 weeks into the 10-week season. Along with this, my club Singles championships have commenced; first with the Minor Singles (eligible to those who haven’t won a Minor championship previously) & after Easter with the Major Singles. I seem to have been practicing & playing rather a lot lately & still it continues – because I play in the Minor Singles Final next Sunday! Five fun weeks although with increasingly higher stakes? The physical & mental demands in bowling are quite demanding & can be quite some workout. Along with a Triples team tournament last Friday (for which we took home a few hundred dollars for 3rd place!), my last 3 days have involved almost 120 ends of play (5km of walking?) & delivering over 320 bowls (total weight about 500kgs?). All good BWC training?
Serious considerations here, to visiting the UK this year & including the BWC. Unfortunately/frustratingly the news out of Brompton HQ on this year’s (10th anniversary?) race has been zilch (beyond saying they’ll email when plans are announced?). Intriguingly the news from unofficial sources are hinting at an early August date & at an “iconic location” (in London?). Anyone familiar with London cycling events in early August could be raising their eyebrows & starting to speculate? However, we need to “Stay calm & Brompt On” (as Mrs Aussie would say) & so we await the official word…
Christmas has come & gone & best wishes for the New Year that’s now with us. News from the Aussie household is that Mrs Aussie has been back on a bike since her broken arm in late October. In fact, she’s had a short bike ride each day this year & seems to be coping well, aside from some pain/difficulty from rear wheel braking with her left hand? Any day now we may even be able to get out on our bikes together, as I’ve been rather restricted with my own left elbow ailment; a severe infection. My energy/motivation level has been down a bit, just as our outdoor temperatures have been too warm lately. Sounds like a coastal cruisey-ride is in order & coming soon?
Even though my recent endeavours to make my Brompton C bag fit well onto our flat-bar S type Bromptons have worked out well (see the recent “Bag & frame flexibility” post), I couldn’t resist picking up an S bag at Belrose Bicycles’ Boxing Day sale. The Barcelona model bag will readily avoid any confusion with Mrs Aussie’s standard S bag (& maybe spur her on to produce her own S flap?) Here’s Clarence with the Barcelona bag –
News from the Brompton world can’t get much better than an OBE in the New Year honors for the Brompton MD, Will Butler-Adams. I’ve had a few meet-ups with Will & an award for “Services to UK manufacturing” is typical of the man; his enthusiasm, passion & leadership goes far further than Brompton & is first class. Here he is inspiring some Sydney-siders during a visit –
Seasons greetings to all from the Aussie household – & may you all ride long & safely
Some of our Christmas lights courtesy of Clarence & Peregrine’s Bromptoncase
Announcing today, the setup of a new Facebook group, the “Sydney Brompton Club”. Having been a member of the London Brompton Club on Facebook for some time, I’ve come to appreciate the updates from many hundreds of Brompton Owners in sharing their tips, comments, questions, stories, adventures, photos & videos about Bromptons. So, I’m expecting the Sydney Brompton Club (SBC) to operate along similar independent lines to the London group & aim to provide a local flavour to Brompton matters.
From my observation of the London BC, owners sharing their experiences helps to grow their knowledge, abilities & confidence. To have a local group ensures that the news, tips, questions, etc have local answers.
Membership of any of the Facebook Brompton groups is available to all & you could even do as many others do, & join them all (eg Sydney Brompton Club, the London Brompton club & many others such as those from Brisbane, Melbourne & other localities). I think the Sydney Brompton world has grown substantially & we need to ensure ready communications between owners, regardless of shop ties or loyalties. Sydney’s original Facebook group was started by the long-standing Brompton dealer, Cheeky Monkey, at Newtown & this group has been tremendous for providing a media connection (albeit initially for their own customers). With the Brompton growth in Sydney, I’m hoping for an independent group for owner conversations – even if the various shops do wish to provide connections & information for their own purposes.
Please check out the new “Sydney Brompton Club Facebook group page” & press that “Join Group” button.
BTW, receiving news on Brompton happenings by you joining the SBC group may be the only step you need to take. On the other hand, if you want to dig further then all the forms of social media have links with Brompton info. For example, my regular checks of sources via Facebook groups, Twitter, website Forums (such as BromptonTalk & Folding Fanciers) & Brompton Blogging sites provide a lot of info by itself, but also provide links to all aspects of the Brompton world.
Aussie on a Brompton 